Igor Panchuk (1981-), Maturation, 2022
Oil on canvas, 50 cm x 70 cm
Signed in the lower left corner.
Purchase from the artist.
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Igor Panchuk (1981-) is a Ukrainian surrealist artist, painter and graphic designer. He was born in the village of Grycenki, Krasilovsky district, Khmelnytsky region. He studied at the Lviv Academy of Fine Arts, after which he moved to Poland, where he lived for eight years. In December 2021, when tensions in the information space began to rise and it became clear that war was inevitable, the artist decided to return to Ukraine and settled in Lviv.
Central to the artist's work is the human figure. The artist's early, realistically interpreted portraits are characterized by attempts to capture the psychology of the portrayed figure, a specific life story, the emotional state of the person at a specific time, at a specific moment captured on canvas. Over time, his figures are transformed into fantastic, anthropomorphic beings. By changing the natural shape of the body, the artist tries to maximize the emotional message. He distorts proportions, increases the number of arms, complicates angles, tightens poses and emphasizes gesture. Some parts are painted in detail, down to the smallest bone and muscle, others are generalized, retreated into shadow, wrapped in drapery, faces are covered with masks and take on strange zoomorphic features. Carnality in the interpretation of Igor Panchuk acquires a new meaning, the plot is full of tension and drama.
With the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the artist did not stop painting. He then created a series of paintings "24" (dated February 24, 2022). This is a series of works in large format (140 x 100 cm or 200 x 150 cm), in which the artist allegorically evokes the nightmare of war. Panchuk's works are presented at charity exhibitions and auctions, with proceeds from their sale going to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and citizens affected by the war.
